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by Lisa Jewell
For fans of Liane Moriarty and Jojo Moyes comes a riveting family drama with a dark mystery at its core, from the internationally bestselling author of The House We Grew Up In.
In the early hours of a summer morning, a young woman steps into the path of an oncoming bus. A tragic accident? Or suicide?
At the center of this puzzle is Adrian Wolfe, a successful architect and grief-stricken widower, who, a year after his third wife's death, begins to investigate the cause. As Adrian looks back on their brief but seemingly happy marriage, disturbing secrets begin to surface. The divorces from his two previous wives had been amicable, or so it seemed; his children, all five of them, were resilient as ever, or so he thought. But something, or someone, must have pushed Maya over the edge…
With psychological nuance that gets into the heart of its characters, The Third Wife is a gripping story about a man seeking the truth behind his seemingly perfect marriage and the broken pieces left behind.
You can see the full discussion in our legacy forum here. This discussion will contain spoilers!
Some of the recent comments posted about The Third Wife:
A study found that the more divorces and remarriages a child lives through, the more likely he is to divorce and the more failed marriages he'll experience as an adult. Do you see this as the future of the children in this novel?
That old expression "a child lives what he learns" is unfortunately often true and Adrian's children were all troubled and hiding their feelings in one way or another. The examples they saw of what a marriage is certainly won't help them to have ... - candaceb
Did you feel that Maya was a sympathetic character?
I did not find her sympathetic and felt that she helped to create her own role in the family. I don't remember enough about her background to determine if she could have been more assertive on her role as the current wife. I should certainly have ... - Peggy H
Do you think Maya's death was accidental or suicide?
Have to agree also. I feel as if it was an accident. Although she had made her decision to leave Adrian and move on...she was not a very strong person nor a very secure person. Her infatuation with Adrian when she first met him, her relationship with... - joang
How would you describe Cat's relationship with Adrian?
I would describe Cat's and Adrian's relationship as very immature. She was supposedly one of his eldest children, but really acted more childish than Pearl, who was at least a decade younger than her. Adrian and her met for lunch weekly, so you would... - dlpiano
How would you write the post-epilogue narrative?
The way Adrian reacted to Abby when he delivered the cat, there is no doubt that his wandering eye will never stop. He may insert him back in Caroline's house and even marry her, but it is hard to believe he will be able to resist the temptation to ... - dorinned
"Taut pacing and complicated characters shape this rich examination of the modern family." – Kirkus
"As in The House We Grew Up In (2014), Jewell excels at juggling multiple perspectives to slowly peel back the layers of supposed domestic bliss." - Booklist
"Lisa Jewell presents us with yet another emotionally intelligent, brilliantly plotted and beautifully written examination of a very modern family that will keep you gripped to the end... Take this to the beach, or indeed anywhere – I promise you won't regret it." – Daily Mail (London)
This information about The Third Wife was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo: Lucinda Chua
Lisa Jewell is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-three novels, including Don't Let Him In, None of This Is True, The Family Upstairs, and Then She Was Gone, as well as Invisible Girl and Watching You. Her novels have sold more than fifteen million copies internationally, and her work has also been translated into over thirty languages.
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